A POWERFUL 10-inch tablet computer that can quickly be turned into a notebook, the Surface Go is ideal for working and playing on the go.

It’s the smallest, lightest and most affordable model yet in Microsoft’s popular Surface computer series, just 8.3mm thin and weighing 522g without the optional keyboard cover accessory. It has a good battery life too, lasting up to nine hours on a complete charge.

The Surface Go has a sleek silver magnesium casing and the back cover provides a kickstand that can be extended for working on your desk or used as a notebook when connected to the Surface Go Standard Type Cover.

And with the optional Surface Pen, Surface Go can serve as a creative tool as well. With a footprint of 245 x 175 mm — the size of a composition notebook — writing on the screen feels natural and intuitive.

Surface Go uses a custom-built high-resolution PixelSense Display that supports the Surface Pen with 4096 levels of pressure sensitivity, low pen parallax, low latency and precision for accurate note taking, drawing and computer-aided design.

Microsoft says the custom calibrated 3:2 display is designed to be easy on your eyes while you are working and has good high-contrast resolution when you want to watch videos, create art pieces or edit photos.

When the Surface Go is used in portrait mode, its screen renders the page to the scale of most textbooks so school kids can use it to read their e-books. Moreover, in landscape mode, Surface Go’s screen can render pages side by side, just like holding a printed book in your hand.

And when attached to the Surface Go Type Cover with a special connecting port, Surface Go becomes a notebook computer powerful enough for handling most business applications and tasks.

Surface Go is powered by the 7th Generation Intel Pentium Gold Processor 4415Y running at 1.6GHz, in a fanless design. Microsoft says its engineers worked closely with Intel to optimise power, performance and battery for the most critical tasks users perform each day, resulting in battery life of up to nine hours.

Surface Go has 8 gigabytes of working memory or RAM and it is installed with 129 GB of fast SSD storage. It also provides a microSD slot for you to expand the storage.

Surface Go runs on Windows 10 Pro and I had no problems running the Microsoft Office suite of business applications during my test, meaning the Surface Go could become a tool for office workers on the go as well.

I found that the custom-made Surface Go Type Cover is intuitive to type on. Its track pad worked effectively controlling the mouse without having to lift the keyboard to touch the screen. And even with the keyboard cover attached, the Surface Go is still highly portable.

The precision trackpad also supports five-point multi-finger gestures. But if you feel more comfortable working with a mouse, you can buy a Surface Mobile Mouse that works through a Bluetooth connection. I tried it and found the mouse connected quickly and worked very well.

The built-in kickstand with full friction hinge extends 165 degrees, which I found useful when I used Surface Go as a laptop computer instead of a tablet.

Its front camera supports Windows Hello log in function, allowing me to unlock the computer using face recognition.

During the test, I found Surface Go ran Word, Excel and other Microsoft Office smoothly. Surface Go can also support BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) enterprise’s IT policy as it supports TPM 2.0 for enterprise security, allowing you to connect to your office’s server with peace of mind.

Surface Go played HD video clips smoothly. Movies sounded good thanks to two-watt stereo speakers with Dolby Audio Premium technology.

The Surface Pen worked very well on the display of Surface Go with apps that support it. For example, I tried it with the Paint 3D app and was able to draw and paint effectively.

The Surface Go has fast wireless connection too. It comes with Wi-Fi 802.11 ac. I had no problem connecting it to my Linksys EA8500 router and Internet connection was fast and smooth. The Surface Go also has Bluetooth 4.1 connection.

The USB-C 3.1 port is not just for charging its battery but can also be connected to a dock for data and video transfer. With an accessory, you can use the port to send video display to a 4K monitor.

Surface Go with 128GB SSD drive and 8GB RAM retails for Bt19,999. The Surface Pen, Surface Go Standard Type Cover and Surface Mobile Mouse retail for Bt3,900, Bt3,590, and Bt1,190 respectively.

>> OS: Windows 10 Pro

>> CPU: Intel Pentium Gold Processor 4415Y 1.6 GHz

>> Memory: 8GB RAM

>> Storage: 128GB SSD drive, expandable with microSD card

>> Graphics: Intel HD Graphics 615

>> Display: 10-inch PixelSense Display with 1800 x 1200 pixels resolution; 3:2 aspect ratio, 1500:1 contrast; protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 3

>> Cameras: 5.0MP front-facing camera with 1080p Skype HD video, 8.0MP rear-facing autofocus camera with 1080p HD video

>> Wireless: Wi-Fi: IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac compatible; Bluetooth Wireless 4.1 technology

>> Ports: 1 x USB-C, 3.5 mm headphone jack, 1 x Surface Connect port, Surface Type Cover port, microSDXC card reader

>> Sensors: Ambient light sensor, Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Magnetometer

>> Dimensions: 245 mm x 175 mm x 8.30 mm

>> Weight: 522 g

>> What’s in the box: Surface Go, Power supply, Quick start guide, Safety and warranty documents

WITH THE global population expected to reach 8.4 billion by 2030 and consumers increasingly concerned about the constant decline in natural resources, leading Swedish packaging company Tetra Pak is promoting its advanced food innovations and packaging technologies as a sustainable solution for the future.

The company recently opened its home in Lund, Sweden for the first Inside Tetra Pak Event, inviting food manufacturers and media groups to witness how its innovative paperboard cartons can save the world from the plastic invasion and to explore the new market trends for the food industry.

Vice president Anders Lindgren showcases an innovative Tetra Recart package that is designed to stand a retort process. 

“Younger consumers are trying to reduce environmental impacts. More than 40 per cent of consumers say they are more likely to consider brands with an environmentally sound profile,” says Laurence Mott, executive vice president of development and engineering.

“Companies everywhere are under pressure to cut their environmental footprint – above and beyond the ever-stricter regulations. So the question is how do we meet all these challenges and prepare for the future? The answer lies in understanding customer needs, focusing on sustainability, and embracing new technologies.”

Tetra Recart is highlighted as a new option for both consumers and food manufacturers. Made from paperboard laminate material, this easy-to-open carton is lightweight and ideal for containing wet products with a shelf life up to two years such as sauce, tomato paste and sweet corn. Each layer has its own specific purpose in keeping the food fresh and safe.

Different from UHT product cartons, Tetra Recart can withstand the retort process, in which both the package and its food contents are exposed to high pressure and a temperature of more than 120 degrees Celsius in a humid environment for a longer period of time. Mainly, retorting is a tough process that has traditionally been used with metal cans and glass jars.

Ambient yoghurt mixed with some fruit is very popular in China.

“This is the first retortable carton in the world. It’s created to replace a food can, which has been used for 250 years and is already dead. There are a billion cans around the world today. It’s not a sustainable solution for the future. Tetra Recart can go into retort and is different from a can in the way it sterilises the product inside,” explains Anders Lindgren, vice president Tetra Recart.

“We have conducted some 100 research studies across the world and we found that consumers prefer this kind of carton to a can. If you take one million of these instead of one million cans you save 30,000 kilograms, while the logistics can save 40 per cent of space for other products and 85 per cent of shelf storage.”

E-commerce is growing fast and the millennial generation is about to move into their prime spending years. They’re already 1.6 times more likely to use a grocery app for shopping, while Generation C – the C standing for Connected – are digital natives, exceptionally tech-savvy and hugely active online. They will become a powerful new force as they’re up to 3.6 times more likely to buy products and services with far greater regularity.

Amazon recognises the potential for E-food retail and is using Tetra Recart for its first food products – even saying in its advertisement “to kick the can”. German company Hello Fresh, meanwhile, has expanded its line to include meal kits, which are ideal for housewives with little time to prepare dinner. It’s very easy to put an order on the website or application and the ingredient set will be delivered complete with a cooking guide.

Digital and social media will also continue to grow, with mobile apps playing a greater role. There are today some 1,000 food and drink apps like UberEats, Deliveroo, and Eh-le-ma (Are you hungry in Chinese), and current predictions show that delivery time will be cut to just 10 minutes by 2025.

The breakfast replacement drink is a new option for office workers. 

Tetra Pak has set up 10 Product Development and Customer Innovation Centres to help the customers develop new product ideas and recipes. During our tour, we get a chance to sample some ambient yoghurt that has taken China by storm since its introduction in 2010. It doesn’t need to be stored in a refrigerator. Delicious and fresh, this kind of yoghurt contains two-and-a-half per cent of proteins, making it a perfect choice for the modern lifestyle.

“First, we make yoghurt in the traditional way, fermenting it to add bacteria. Then, we go on to the ambient temperature process using heat and sterilisation to kill bacteria. A challenge is how to make yoghurt texture stable because it is sensitive to shearing,” says Dan Bjorklund, manager of the Centre of Expertise Dairy.

There’s also very smooth cream cheese, a vanilla-flavoured breakfast replacement drink from the UK, Greek yoghurt with aloe vera from Thailand and oriental bread with humus from Jordan, plus chicken noodle soup, whole kernel corn and Jambalaya soup from South America.

The Product Development Centre is formulating a new recipe for smooth cream cheese. It can be made in many different ways using fresh milk or milk powder before adding bacteria with fermentation. A separation machine will help extract the water from the products and boost the fat and protein content.

“We have a high shearing mixer that can be used with milk powder to obtain a high-concentrate liquid and a heat exchanger that gives cream cheese a really nice colour, smooth texture and good flavour,” Bjorklund explains.

Greek-yoghurt with aloe vera is available in Thailand.

“This product can stand at room temperature and can be eaten as a snack on the go. It goes through heat treatment at about 135 degrees Celsius,” he adds.

“Many countries are entering an ageing society and climate change is having lots of different impacts, so the market trend in the food industry revolves around waters, plant-based drinks, cheese, and food supplements and nutrition. By 2021, around 80 per cent of products on the beverage lines will be water because people will hydrate quickly on the go. People are more concerned about their health and the environment, so they’re looking for plant-based drinks. Given the fast pace of city life, people tend to skip breakfast and have a short lunch, so food supplements are a good option,” says Lars Bengtsson, vice president of Packaging.

“In general terms, consumers in Asia are much more curious and interested in new things. They like to experiment and move quickly from one new trend to the other, like protein one day and oat-based drinks the next. It’s different in Europe where people tend to be slower to adapt.

Find out more at http://www.TetraPak.com.

SPOTIFY ONLINE music streaming service takes away the need to subscribe to its premium service by allowing you to enjoy music through its All-New Free on Spotify option.

The new, ad-supported All-New Free on Spotify, which was launched in April, is designed to allow users to have a fun music experience with the redesigned Android and iOS app.

The Free on Spotify has five must-use features that make your listening experience more tailored to what you like.

The first feature that you must use to enjoy other features afterwards is the Taste Onboarding.

After you have downloaded and signed into the free app for the first time, you will be prompted to select five or more artists you like.

Your selection will allow Spotify’s server to analyse your favourite artists, songs and genres. From your choices, Spotify will create some welcome playlists for you and tailor your home screen for easier music discovery. Moreover, the app will gradually learn from your listening experience to better recommend and introduce artists you are likely to love.

Free on Spotify will then use the data from your Taste Onboarding to present you with 15 personalised and curated playlists that will be particular to you based on your music tastes and your streaming habits.

The On-Demand Playlists include Discover Weekly and up to six Daily Mixes. These lists will update frequently based on how you interact with them and with the rest of the music you listen to.

When you listen to other playlists in the free service, you must listen to the playlists in shuffle play mode and the number of tracks you can skip is limited.

That said, within the On-Demand Playlists, you can play songs in any order and skip as much as you like. The more you stream, the quicker the On-Demand Playlists will become available and you can find them on your home screen.

I found during the trial that Free on Spotify compiled an enjoyable “Your Welcome Mix” list for me after I selected my favourite artists. Most of the songs were rock numbers from the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s, which are hard to find on radio now.

Selecting artists was intuitive. After I selected an artist, Spotify provided artists with similar genres and styles for me to choose.

I then found my On-Demand Playlists such as Daily Mix 1 and Discover Weekly that were in line with my personal tastes.

The third useful feature of the Free on Spotify is Assisted Playlisting. You just start with a title, and then choose a few tracks. In the meantime, Spotify starts recommending songs for you to add with the tap of a button. Spotify will show songs based on artists in the playlist, your taste profile, and even the title of your playlist – particularly songs with that theme or word in the lyrics.

For example, I created a “Rock ballads” playlist and I started with “Soldier of Fortune” by Deep Purple and “Before the Dawn” by Judas Priest. Spotify then recommended several more slow numbers for me to easily add to the list. The recommended songs included Deep Purple’s “When a Blind Man Cries”, Rainbow’s “The Temple of The King” and Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven”.

The fourth feature that free users will love is “Personalize by Liking and Hiding”.

Free on Spotify will provide you with like and hide buttons that you can use to get recommendations tailored just for you. The like button is presented as the heart icon and the hiding as the ban icon (circle with a slash).

While you are listening to songs from a list, you can note songs you like by tapping the heart icon. You can also do this with artists, albums and playlists. This will teach the app to learn what you love and want to hear more of.

All your liked songs will appear in a new playlist called “Your Favourites” and new tracks from artists you have listened to will appear in your Release Radar.

On the contrary, when you tap the “hide” icon, the app will ensure that you don’t have to hear that song or others similar to it.

While paid users can download songs to enjoy music offline to save data connection, Free on Spotify provides a Data Saver feature that allows free users to optimise the listening experience to use less mobile data. Data Saver streams at a lower bit rate so you can listen to more music with less guilt. Data Saver isn’t a default setting, so make sure to switch it on in your settings tab.

Anyway, if you want you can subscribe for Spotify Premium for Bt129 a month to download songs and listen without being interrupted by ads. The Spotify Premium also allows you to play songs on your smartphone and to skip songs in any playlist without limit.

The premium service has improved sound quality and comes with Spotify Connect to stream music to Wi-Fi speakers that have built-in Chromecast.

These days, Spotify has more than 180 million users, including 83 million-plus Spotify Premium subscribers across 65 markets. Spotify says it has over 35 million tracks for streaming.

Spotify has just celebrated the first anniversary of its service in Thailand and marked the occasion by announcing that “Avorn” by Polycat topped the list of Top Hits Thailand and “Pen Rai Mai” by OG-ANIClazyloxy topped the list of Thai Pop Hits.

>> Required: iOS or Android device

>> Service: Free (with certain restrictions)

>> Available tracks: Over 40 million

>> Premium service: Bt129 per month

>> Number of users: 180 million

Gentoo penguins Sphen and Magic are happily “taking turns caring for their baby chick,” born on October 19 weighing 91 grams, said Tish Hannan of the Sea Life Sydney Aquarium.

Sphen and Magic had caught the attention of aquarium workers when they were constantly seen waddling around and going for swims together.

They then began to build a collective nest of pebbles, prompting the aquarium to provide a dummy egg for them to look after and, when they proved up to the task, a real egg.

The pair have bonded, Hannan, Sea Life’s penguin department supervisor, told AFP. “They recognise each other’s signature calls and songs.

“Only bonded penguins will be able to successfully find their partner using their calls when they are separated.”

Unlike many mammal species, male and female penguins take on the same parenting roles, and share parental duties 50-50.

“There is no real difference when it comes to breeding behaviours between males and females,” Hannan explained.

So it “is common to have male-male or female-female showing courtship and breeding behaviour.”

In the wild, however, these courtships are unlikely to result in a chick, so they are normally shortlived, with the penguins becoming unsatisfied and looking for another partner.

“Because we have given Sphen and Magic the opportunity to have a potentially successful breeding season, it is very likely that they will return to each other again next year,” said Hannan.

This is not the first time same-sex penguin couples have adopted eggs in captivity, with a handful of zoos worldwide reporting similar cases.

In 2009, two male penguins — Z and Vielpunkt — successfully hatched and reared a chick that was rejected by its heterosexual parents at a zoo in Berlin.

Before them came Roy and Silo, two male chinstrap penguins at a zoo in New York who were spotted frequently trying to mate with each other.

After they tried to incubate a rock, zookeepers gave them a foster egg which they successfully hatched. Their foster chick, a female called Tango, eventually paired up with another female.

While a few UK- and Asia-based schools have ascended, American universities continue to lead the ranking. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, for example, places second on the list, and Harvard University comes in third, making 2018 the fourth consecutive year those universities have held those same spots.

The Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology just missed the top 10, coming in at No. 11.

This event consists of five segments.

“Design Showcase” will have 51 designers and entrepreneurs displaying their wares on Charoenrat Road, at the former Election Commission headquarters next to the TCDC on Muang Samut Road, and at a nearby shophouse.

Clothes, decorative items, furniture, gifts, textiles, toys, ceramic objects, lamps, silver, wood and food products will be on sale, originating mainly in Chiang Mai but with some from Bangkok.

“Creative Space Workshops” will see entrepreneurs hosting open houses and sharing their skills. There will be 26 workshops across the city covering topics ranging from leather goods, mulberry paper, coffee and clothing to printed textiles.

Unfortunately, all are already booked up save one, in which Australian artist Chris Chun will demonstrate how to make some very cool pillowcases. Get an application form at the TCDC or email.

“Citywide Installation & Tours” examines large design objects like sculptures, wooden installations and furniture installed at seven locations. You get to interact with the objects and study the skills and materials used. There will also be a coffee tour, a bike tour and an artandculture tour activities.

“Business Programme” aims to link local manufacturers and entrepreneurs with buyers and business partners, both in Thailand and abroad. Events include a networking party and a market featuring handicrafts and homemade products on December 13 and 14 in the grounds of a 140-year-old house on Charoenprathet Road.

“Creative Dialogue” at the TCDC will involve panel discussions among 30 experts on subjects related to design and entrepreneurship.

Find out more at http://www.ChiangMaiDesignWeek.com and http://www.TCDC.or.th/chiangmai.

British royalty was in town last week to help the British Embassy and Siam Piwat in a humanitarian housing endeavour.

Michelin-star chef Ken Hom prepared “Dinner with the Duke”, which delighted His Royal Highness Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester, Ambassador Brian John Davidson and all of their guests.

Helping host the evening were Siam Piwat senior executive vice president Mayuree Chaipromprasith and Habitat for Humanity Thailand chief executive Timothy Loke.

From left, Mayuree Chaipromprasith, Prince Richard and Ambassador Brian John Davidson.

Loke’s agency will use the funds raised to build homes for low-income Thais and otherwise assist their communities.

Prince Richard thanked Habitat for making life safer, more secure and more hygienic in many parts of the world for people “who otherwise would be living in shacks or have no home at all”.

“I’m delighted with your support for this charity and I’d like to thank Siam Piwat for sponsoring this. I supposed this could be an historic event because the British Embassy will not be here at this location very much longer. It is perhaps one of the last chances to appreciate it.”

Ken Hom and Timothy Loke

Ambassador Davidson lauded the strong, long-lasting friendship between the embassy and Siam Piwat. I’m delighted that we can donate all profits from ticket sales to Habitat for Humanity Thailand and that it will contribute to the good work they do here in improving people’s living conditions.”

Mayuree raised a cheer to Hom’s magnificent arrangements, including the meticulous six-course feast. It featured chicken and sundried tomatoes in spring rolls, creamy asparagus soup, jade prawns, roast lacquered duck, corn-meal-ginger waffles, warm mango compote and Petits Fours Mandarin Oriental.

ML Radeethep Devakula and Chamapan Rangaratna

Singer Rudglao Amaradit performed and celebrity photographer Pornpot “Sixtysix” Kanchanahatakij made the rounds recording the scene.

Among the more than 40 guests were ML Radeethep Devakula, Srisuphang Morris, Pisits Laosiriratana, Soontree Trayaporn, Nareerat Chinthammit, Chanvit Aneksamphant and Dao Sathienthirakul.

Nareerat Chinthammit and Apha Rungsimuntoran

Loke said that Humanity Thailand in not quite 20 years had enabled 57,500 people in 11,500 families “to build or improve a place they can call home”.

“Our work was made possible thanks to our generous donors and committed volunteers. More than seven million Thais are currently living in poverty, many of them in inadequate shelter.

“Even as we celebrate the happy occasion of Habitat’s 20th anniversary in Thailand, there is much more to be done. Everyone can help build homes, raise funds and speak out about the need for affordable housing.

“With continuous support, Habitat Thailand will strengthen the foundation for success by building strong, stable homes and communities though our housing programmes and community development initiatives. Together, let us build strength, stability and self-reliance through shelter.”